Stars snub limos for green machines

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Environment-conscious stars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth
Paltrow and Orlando Bloom will roll up on the Oscars red carpet in
fuel-efficient hybrid cars instead of limousines.

Also eschewing the traditional limo ride will be last year's
best actress Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, 2005 acting nominees
Morgan Freeman and Natalie Portman, as well as Salma Hayek and
Scarlett Johansson, according to environmental group Global Green
USA.

"With global warming threatening us all, driving a fuel
efficient car like a hybrid is something that everybody can do to
protect our planet," said Mexican-born movie star Hayek, who will
present an Oscar statuette.

British Lord of the Rings heartthrob Bloom, who will also
hand out one of the golden guys, added: "People can choose to
change the way they drive to help reduce our impact on the
environment."

A growing number of Hollywood stars are publicly movine to
transform the Oscars red carpet into a green carpet by arriving in
small but economical hybrid Toyota Prius cars to draw attention to
global warming.

The Oscars arrivals are broadcast across the world and are
watched by up to a billion television viewers, giving celebrities a
chance to show off their environmentally-friendly credentials.

"By foregoing gas-guzzling limos Oscar attendees show their
support for fuel efficient cars to decrease our dependence on
fossil fuels, reduce air pollution, and stem climate change," said
Matt Petersen, president of Global Green, the US arm of ex-Soviet
president Mikhail Gorbachev's Green Cross.

Other stars who have in the past chosen to conspicuously slip
their small electric-fuel hatchbacks into the queues of
stretch-limousines at the Academy Awards include Harrison Ford and
Tim Robbins and Susuan Sarandon.

Earlier this week, a group of green stars including Kate
Bosworth, Tim Robbins, Julie Delpy and Dennis Hopper attended a
green pre-Oscars gala in Los Angeles at which they appealed to US
President George W Bush to support a "smart climate agenda".

Some 3300 stars and other guests are expected to attend the 77th
annual Academy Awards show that gets under way at Hollywood's Kodak
Theatre at 5pm (1200 AEDT) tomorrow.